Happy couple of tourists taking selfie picture in front of Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
Photo Credit: iStockPhoto.com/portfolio/Kar-Tr

MADRID — According to the latest World Tourism Barometer from UN Tourism, an estimated 1.4 billion tourists travelled internationally in 2024, indicating a virtual recovery (99 per cent) of pre-pandemic levels. This represents an increase of 11 per cent over 2023, or 140 million more international tourist arrivals, with results driven by strong post-pandemic demand, robust performance from large source markets and the ongoing recovery of destinations in Asia and the Pacific.

The Middle East, Europe and Africa see strongest results in 2024 relative to 2019

  • The Middle East (95 million arrivals) remained the strongest performing region when compared to 2019, with international arrivals 32-per-cent above pre-pandemic levels in 2024, though one-per-cent higher compared to 2023.
  • Africa (74 million) welcomed seven-per-cent more arrivals than in 2019, and 12-per-cent more than in 2023.
  • Europe saw 747 million international arrivals in 2024 (one-per-cent above 2019 levels and five-per-cent above 2023), supported by strong intra-regional demand. All European sub-regions surpassed pre-pandemic levels, except for Central and Eastern Europe where many destinations are still suffering from the lingering effects of the Russian aggression on Ukraine.
  • The Americas (213 million) recovered 97 per cent of pre-pandemic arrivals (down three per cent over 2019), with the Caribbean and Central America already exceeding 2019 levels. Compared to 2023, the region saw seven-per-cent growth.
  • Asia and the Pacific (316 million) continued to experience a rapid recovery in 2024, though arrival numbers were still 87 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, an improvement from 66 per cent at the end of 2023. International arrivals grew 33 per cent in 2024, an increase of 78 million from 2023.

“In 2024, global tourism completed its recovery from the pandemic and, in many places, tourist arrival and specially earnings are already higher than in 2019,” says Zurab Pololikashvili, UN Tourism secretary-general. “Growth is expected to continue throughout 2025, driven by strong demand contributing to the socio-economic development of both mature and emerging destinations. This re-calls our immense responsibility as a sector to accelerate transformation, placing people and planet at the centre of the development of tourism.”

Positive outlook for 2025 points to continued growth

  • International tourist arrivals are expected to grow three to five per cent in 2025, compared to 2024, assuming a continued recovery of Asia and the Pacific and solid growth in most other regions. This initial projection assumes global economic conditions remain favourable, inflation continues to recede and geo-political conflicts don’t escalate.
  • The outlook reflects a stabilization of growth rates after a strong rebound in international arrivals in 2023 (up 33 per cent versus 2022) and 2024 (up 11 per cent versus 2023).
  • The latest UN Tourism Confidence Index confirms these positive expectations. Around 64 per cent of UN Tourism panel of experts see “better” or “much better: prospects for 2025 compared to 2024. Some 26 per cent expect similar performance in their destination, while only nine per cent believe 2025 will be “worse” or “much worse” than last year.
  • However, economic and geo-political headwinds continue to pose significant risks. More than half of respondents point to high transport and accommodation costs and other economic factors such as volatile oil prices, as the main challenges international tourism will face in 2025. Against this backdrop, tourisms are expected to continue to seek value for money.
  • Geo-political risks (aside from ongoing conflicts) are a growing concern among the panel of experts, which ranked them as the third main factor after the economic ones. Extreme weather events and staff shortages are also critical challenges, ranking fourth and fifth among the factors identified by the panel.
  • Balancing growth and sustainability will be critical in 2025, as reflected by two major trends identified by the panel: the search for sustainable practices and the discovery of lesser-known destinations.

To discover more findings from UN Tourism’s World Tourism Barometer, click here

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